


Top of the Rock

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Happy Beginning, Post-Canon, Rumbelle - Freeform, Rumbelle Summer Vacation, gibraltar, kid!Gideon, post s-6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 14:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11923200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: My entry for @rumbellesummervacation, in which Belle, Rumpel and Gideon visit Gibraltar and meet the famous barbary macaques.





	Top of the Rock

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately I couldn't find the picture of the macaque family from my own trip to Gibraltar, so you'll just have to imagine it! It's actually rather ironic as I'm scared to death of monkeys and I stayed in the minibus whilst everyone else went to take pictures with them...
> 
> If you ever are in Gibraltar then I do recommend taking a tour of the tunnels, which are fascinating.

 

"Can we see the monkeys now? Please?"

Standing in the bright sunlight outside the entrance to Gibraltar's fame network of tunnels, Gideon was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, rocking on the balls of his feet with a wide grin on his face, and his enthusiasm was so infectious that Belle had to smile too.

"Wait a few moments, Gid. There are a few people still in the museum. Including your Papa."

Gideon let out a huge sigh, folding his arms, and in that moment his peeved expression was incredibly reminiscent of his father when Rumpelstiltskin had been in one of his moods back in the Dark Castle. It was an expression that would either lead to mischief or tears, but considering the circumstances, Belle was certain that this would be a mischief day. Sure enough, a little twinkle came into his eyes. Well, it would have done had they not been screwed up against the sun, and Belle hastened to put his sunglasses back on him. She'd taken them off when they had been in the tunnels, much to his chagrin, but she didn't want him bumping into anything. Despite his insistence upon seeing the monkeys, which was the only thing that had been on his mind since they had set foot on the Gibraltar docks, Gideon had enjoyed the walk through the tunnels dug through the rock, used for a variety of purposes for over one hundred years and now maintained as a museum. He'd been particularly tickled by the hard hats they'd had to wear, all of which were bright pink so no visitors could get lost on the tour. Rumpel hadn't been too enamoured by the hats, but he'd given in with good grace after the tour guide had offered to take a picture of the three of them next to one of the military vehicles that they had seen in the tunnels. With all his natural energy, Gideon had raced through the last part of the tour and Belle had rushed after him; Rumpel had stayed behind to take pictures of the things that Gideon had missed in his enthusiasm to get through the tunnels and see the monkeys. 

They only had a few hours to spend in Gibraltar, their ship had docked early in the morning and would be leaving in the mid-afternoon, but they had seen a good portion of the small peninsula from vantage points on the rock. Belle's favourite sight had been looking out towards the border with Spain and the long straight road that led up to it. The road was bisected at one point by the Gibraltar airport runway, and the fact that the traffic had to be stopped any time a plane had to land or take off had amused her greatly. 

The Apes' Den, home to the most famous troop of Gibraltar's legendary Barbary macaques, would be the last point on the tour, and Gideon was very anxious that they should get to it before they had to return to the ship. He was looking over longingly at the little minibus that had been taking them on their island tour, and then turned back to Belle, bouncing on his heels again.

"Maybe we could go without Papa? Surely we don't need to wait for everyone else."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that Papa would take too kindly to being left behind. We don't want the ship to sail without him because you were too eager to see the monkeys."

"But if we don't hurry up then we might never see the monkeys!" Gideon sounded utterly appalled at this prospect, and in that moment it was clear that monkeys were far more important than making sure that all of the family were present for the rest of their cruise holiday. 

"All right," Belle said. "Let's go over and get on the minibus so that we're ready to go when everyone else arrives. I think we ought to put some more cream on your nose as well, it's looking a bit pink."

"It's from the hard hat," Gideon said sagely, before racing across the carpark to the minibus. Belle hurried to keep up. Thankfully the tour guide was well-seasoned and used to fielding excited questions about the famous monkeys, and Gideon was happy to sit in the passenger seat beside him and chat. 

A couple of minutes later saw the rest of the tour group emerging, with Rumpel among them. 

"Where's Gid?" he asked as they came over to the bus. Belle nodded up towards the driver.

"Getting a lesson in primate history," she said. They moved quietly up the bus to take seats behind Gideon and the driver.

"And even though they have no tails, they're actually monkeys rather than apes," the tour guide was saying. Gideon was rapt, and almost didn't notice that the rest of the tour group had returned and they were ready to set off to meet the monkeys. A ten-minute drive took them to the Queen's Gate, where the Apes' Den and a large concentration of the monkeys could always be found. 

Belle grabbed Gideon before he could rush off the bus.

"Now, remember Gideon, although they're used to humans, they're still wild animals, so don't get too close."

"Yes," the driver added. "It's actually illegal to feed them; it encourages them to go down into the town and seek out human interaction for food. Take all the pictures that you want, but don't get too friendly."

Gideon nodded his understanding vigorously, and the three of them stepped off the bus. A large group of the monkeys was sunning themselves on a lookout point by the side of the road, not too far from where the minibus was parked up, and none of them were paying any attention to the humans crowding around and taking pictures of them. Gideon kept a respectful distance, and every time he glanced over at Belle and Rumpel, he was beaming from ear to ear. 

"Can I take the pictures Papa?" he asked excitedly, and Rumpel chuckled as he handed over the camera and Gideon went a little closer to the gathered monkeys. Not too far away there was a little family group, two adults grooming each other whilst an infant played nearby, and Belle felt Rumpel put an arm around her, pulling her in close to his side and stroking her hair where it was falling down a little from its clip. Belle smiled as she continued to watch Gideon, and she reflected at how perfectly they matched the little macaque family. A mother and a father, still devoted to each other and to their little one, letting him stretch his legs and discover things for himself, but not letting him get too far away. Not yet, at least. Gideon was a growing boy, ready for all kinds of adventures, but for now, Belle and Rumpel would always be standing just a little way behind, just in case. 

Presently the cameras clicking and the general noise of the humans standing around spooked the young monkey and he ran back to his parents, who quickly pulled him into their little huddle. Gideon took a few more photos before racing back to Belle and Rumpel. 

"I didn't get too close and I used the zoom!" he said proudly. "I got some great pictures! They're so cute!"

Belle looked up at Rumpel as Gideon raced off to show his pictures to the minibus driver.

"You know, sometimes I think that he's part monkey," Rumpel said. "In fact, he's more monkey-like than these ones sometimes. Do you think we can swap and take one of these home with us instead?"

Belle batted his arm, although she knew that he was only joking. She stayed looking at the macaque family for a long time, until they were being herded back towards the minibus ready for the trip back to the ship. She hoped that they would be all right. Rumpel squeezed her shoulders, planting a kiss into her hair. 

"Don't worry about the monkeys," he said. "They'll turn out all right. We did, after all, and if we can manage it them I'm sure they can."

Belle nodded and boarded the bus, settling herself back next to Gideon, her very own cheeky little monkey. 


End file.
